Web Information System for the Governance of University Research

Technology development has proved crucial in analyzing and processing the volume of scientific information that is generated today. Governments are developing scientific and technical information systems that, beyond a database, are a real tool for supporting research management and decisionmaking in the field of science and technology policy. For the development of higher education in Morocco, the ministry has focused on projects for the management and development of university research. For this purpose, Abdelmalek Essaadi University developed an efficient application dedicated to the management of collaborative extranet called SIMarech (Moroccan Information System of Scientific Research), in order to support, organize and structure all academic activities. It will enable all university stakeholders to use a digital workspace specific to their roles, to access and share information, and interact and engage in national scientific research. This article presents an overview of research management systems and the design and development of SIMarech, which is designed as a tool for monitoring research conducted by a university or other institutions. Keywords-SIMarech platform; web information system; management of research; university scientific research


INTRODUCTION
Governments want high-level universities because the modern economy is based on scientific research and highly skilled human capital.Each university must have a clear and evidence-based understanding of the institution's research performance in relation to its objectives and mission [1].Since research is a central function, the university must evaluate its research performance, something that will help the decision making about which research areas to support or build [2].It will also help university leaders to understand the institution's position in relation to global and national standards of research production.For a good piloting of scientific research, an information system becomes a mandatory condition to manage better investments in science in order to evaluate the performance of research and to establish a solid policy for the development of scientific research [3].To this end, Moroccan universities have decided to adopt the digital application called SIMarech set up by Abdelmalek Essaadi University, which aims to develop an information system initiative whose ultimate goal is to support researchers and enhance their scientific activities.The incorporation of SIMarech into Moroccan universities has contributed to a significant increase in the number of active researchers, the quantity of research projects in progress, the external and internal funds obtained and the number of publications in indexed journals.SIMarech can be defined as a set of people, processes and equipment designed, built, operated and maintained to collect, record, process, store, retrieve and display information about the activities and results produced by the researchers in their development centers or in collaboration with other national or international institutions.

II. GLOBAL RESEARCH MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OVERVIEW
Global research management has benefited greatly from the development of research management systems that reflect the research results generated in universities and research centers, organizations, institutions, etc.The development or improvement of a research information system requires a comparative study of similar existing systems and as well as taking into account remarks from researchers or users of the system.

A. Research Management Systems in Latin America
Table I shows an overview, the advantages and the disadvantages of the respected systems (SGI, SICyTAR).

B. Research Management Systems in Europe
The same applies in Table II regarding the European research management systems (SICA, GRAAL, IRIS).-Includes a range of information services for the exclusive use of specific users of university researchers, -Aims to have a set of indicators and related statistics of available research capabilities, -Stays informed in the results of academic research, -Exchange knowledge at national and international level, -Allows visitors to the SGI platform to view the researchers' CV [4][5][6].

www.etasr.com Benmoussa et al.: Web Information System for the Governance of University Research
-Limited to the management of university research.-Limited to the management of research projects and indexed publications.-There is not an identifier to distinguish the user from the system, -It is accessible to everyone, a researcher or other from any country can create an account and provide false information, something that makes the statistics information withheld questionable [8].-Presents and manages in a coherent way the research units within the university including the personnel and their scientific activities, -Manages the monitoring of financial means and international activities within the university [16].
Limited just to the research management of university research units [16].

IRIS (Italy)
Adopted in 2015 by the University of L'Aquila in Italy, it is a platform of data management on research activities, was designed to meet the needs of academic institutions and research.It is now installed in seven establishments outside Italy [17].
-IRIS aims to collect, manage and store the results of the scientific research of the University, -Professors, researchers, the fellows of research, specialization and PhD students, as well as administrative staff members can access the platform using their credentials to catalog their published research, -IRIS aims to control the results of research and to improve the visibility of the University's production, -Has five different modules integrated through standard protocols and interfaces, -One of the main components of IRIS is DSpace-CRIS, an open source solution that can also be used as a standalone system [17,19].
Does not allow managing and evaluating of research activities of each unit independently of the other [20] .

C. The Globally Recognized Research Information Management System (RIMS)
RIMS project is an initiative funded by DST and powered by InfoEd.Authors in [21,22] described RIMS as a potential new category of services for libraries.RIMS is an integrated online system for managing grants and the administration of ethics in research projects and research activities.It provides researchers, administrative and executive staff with a single point of reference for these aspects of research projects [22,24].The software is used by more than 600 academic, medical and scientific institutions around the world [21,22,24,25].

III. SIMARECH
The Moroccan information system of scientific research (SIMarech) aims to collect, manage and store research (research, professional, educational and international activities) at national level.Its modular nature and flexibility of its data model facilitate the processing, organizing and transmission of information in accordance with international standards.The development team has worked to develop a scalable and customizable application that aligns with local, national and international research policies, and recognizes the autonomy of universities in terms of governance of the scientific research [25].SIMarech has taken into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of the previously presented systems.

A. General
SIMarech was created at Abdelmalek Essaadi University in 2008 to help develop the research potential by highlighting the scientific production and know-how of researchers.SIMarech can also be used as an assessment tool and could help decision making.Initially, the system was structured to include a range of services for the exclusive use of specific users based on their

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Keeps a unified CVar register constantly updated [9].-Produces through the InfoSICYTAR service of the platform detailed statistical information to develop indicators and evaluate science and technology policies, for exclusive use by the institutions of National System of Science, Technology and Innovation [10] -Provides the BUSCAR tool for networking among researchers, as well as government and commercial sectors accessible to all visitors [7].
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